The present invention relates to emergency informing system, emergency call center, emergency informing terminal, and method for controlling emergency informing terminal. In particular, it relates to an emergency informing terminal mounted on a vehicle, and transmitting vehicle position information and other data to the emergency call center in the case of emergency.
An emergency informing terminal is mounted on a vehicle, and includes an emergency informing unit for making a telephone call to the center supervising the emergency informing system such as police or an emergency call center through a base station of communications operator or the like.
Hitherto, the emergency informing terminal has been applicable only to specific vehicles for issuing a predetermined air bag developing signal, or vehicles for generating and transmitting the same automatic emergency call signal including an air bag developing signal. The emergency informing terminal is composed of a system for starting automatic emergency informing processing by the signal issued from such vehicles. As an example of such device, a vehicle emergency informing device disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 9-136608 is known.
Herein, the emergency informing terminal acquires a signal from the air bag equipment as transmission condition for starting automatic emergency informing process. The emergency informing terminal, when acquiring a signal showing development of air bag, automatically transfers to the emergency informing process.
However, depending on the vehicle or model, if the signal format of the signal issued by the air bag equipment is different, the vehicular terminal needs to be developed and prepared for each vehicle.
This invention addresses the problems above discussed, and it is an object of the invention to present an emergency informing terminal capable of recognizing plural signal formats so as to be mounted generally on vehicles or models of different signal formats of signals from air bag equipment.
It is also an object of the invention to present an emergency informing terminal capable of identifying which format of signal is entered as an air bag output signal depending on vehicles and models. Accordingly, it comprises signal identifying means for identifying preset signal formats, aside from plural different air bag equipment output signals.
It is another object of the invention to present an emergency informing terminal capable of operating by changing the control unit responsible for the automatic emergency informing process, without changing the control unit for controlling the emergency informing system, if necessary to change the automatic emergency informing process due to a change in the signal format. Accordingly, aside from the control unit for controlling the emergency informing system, it includes a control unit for automatic emergency informing process.
The emergency informing terminal of the invention is mounted on a vehicle, and sends an emergency call to the center for supervising the emergency informing system by emergency informing means.
The emergency informing terminal includes means for recognizing and controlling emergency informing signals entered in different signal formats in every vehicle, and emergency informing means for making emergency informing process on the basis of the recognition and control of the emergency informing signal.
This emergency informing terminal can be mounted generally on vehicles and models different in the signal output format from the air bag equipment.
The emergency informing system of the invention comprises this emergency informing terminal, and an emergency call center for supervising the emergency informing system, and receiving an emergency call signal from the emergency informing terminal.
The control method of the emergency informing terminal of the invention judges whether a LAN mounted vehicle or not by a status signal. According to this method, the air bag equipment is judged to be regular depending on the signal obtained from each vehicle, and judged to be irregular if no signal is entered, and an adequate emergency informing process is done depending on whether the vehicle incorporates the LAN or not.
Thus, not limited to specific vehicles, the invention realizes a versatile emergency informing terminal, emergency informing system, and control method of emergency informing terminal applicable to vehicles generating emergency informing signals in different formats, or air bag developing signals or fuel cut-off signals generated in other signal formats.